HomeNewsBriefPeru Breaks Up Colombia Money Laundering Ring
BRIEF

Peru Breaks Up Colombia Money Laundering Ring

MONEY LAUNDERING / 1 JUL 2013 BY MARGUERITE CAWLEY EN

Peruvian authorities have dismantled a Colombian money laundering network that allegedly moved $10 million per month through illegal loans, raising the question of why Colombians have chosen to use Peru to run these types of criminal operations.

A Peruvian woman and 16 Colombians operating in Lima, Huancayo and Iquitos were arrested, and three buildings, ten vehicles, firearms, money and computers confiscated from the group, reported La Republica

According to Public Ministry officials, the group used social networking sites to launder funds of illicit origin by offering immediate loans of up to $25,000 with no guarantee. After granting the loan, the network charged monthly interest rates of between 40 to 60 percent and in some cases kidnapped debtors who defaulted, forcing their family members to sell off whatever they could in order to pay back the loan.

According to news site Peru.com, the Huancayo-based members were called "Los Armenios de Colombia" (the Armenians of Colombia) and simultaneously worked selling fruit and pastries.

InSight Crime Analysis

Peru's apparently lax money laundering controls may help to explain why a Colombian gang chose to use the country as its operational base. Despite the implementation of a national plan to combat money laundering, the government reported in 2012 that the country had not achieved any convictions for money laundering, and that of around 120 cases investigated, only four had resulted in judicial proceedings. In June, Peruvian authorities reported a rise in money laundering through small businesses, with official data indicating that 3.5 percent of annual GDP may be the product of illicit funds. Police corruption exacerbates the situation -- as of June, 900 police were under investigation in Peru for complicity in crimes including money laundering and kidnapping.

One interesting question is how the Colombians were able to operate without being pushed out by Peruvian gangs. The majority of Peruvian gang members -- over 12,000 of 13,000 -- are believed to be concentrated in Lima, according to one report, possibly leaving the Huancayo and Iquitos markets open for control.

The case illustrates how the internet helps to facilitate illicit financial activities, providing a largely unregulated platform for the transfer of funds, and provides an example of the increasingly diverse ways organized criminals are using social media, a topic examined by InSight Crime last month.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ELITES AND CRIME / 10 DEC 2021

Authorities in Peru have dismantled a criminal network involving at least two government ministries. The corruption case underscores weak government…

BOLIVIA / 30 NOV 2022

Lake Titicaca serves as a crossroads for varied criminal economies, from cocaine shipments to trafficking the frogs that live along…

FEATURED / 15 MAR 2022

The $215,520 began its journey south in the parking lot of a Meijer grocery store in Louisville, Kentucky, a 19-hour…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report continues to be a reference in the region

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Staff Cited as Experts by International Media

21 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime deputy editor, Juan Diego Posada, was interviewed by the Associated Press about connections between the ex-FARC mafia and Brazilian criminal groups, and…